Should the national drinking age be lowered to 18?

by Author Name Withheld 135

Created on: July 04, 2009   Last Updated: July 06, 2009

I am a resident of the UK, where the drinking age is already 18. I genuinely believe that lowering the age at which someone can buy alcohol in the USA to 18 would be fair and consistent.

We believe our young people responsible enough to vote at 18. We believe that they have enough maturity about them at this age to take a democratic right and social responsibility and cast a vote as to the future of their nation. We believe that they are 'grown up' enough to choose their president, yet we're not happy for them to buy a bottle of wine? That's inconsistent and gives entirely the wrong idea.

We will let young people drive before they can drink. In the USA they can own arms before they can drink? I believe that this offers entirely the wrong message to younger people about what responsibilities they are expected to take and how much society trusts them to behave like adults.

And the fact remains that no 'drinking age' will truly ever stop underage drinking. People find ways of obtaining alcohol when they are 'too young' in much the same way that drug users find ways of obtaining illegal substances when they should not. You could raise it to 40 and teenagers would still get their hands on it. By decriminalising alcohol consumption for the 18-21s, you can rest assured that they can drink safely and socially in the public environments or bars and clubs, as opposed to taking ridiculously large volumes of alcohol to house parties and hiding.

At 18, when one is old enough to vote, to leave home, to go to college and to take full control of one's life, surely it is imperative that young people feel entirely that their life is now their responsibility. This is part of developing independence and learning to 'fly from the nest,' as it were. In placing this rule, whereby we tell these people that they are too young to purchase alcohol, we essentially hold over them a certain unnecessary rule. It's saying to them, 'you are not old enough to do this.' That's a message that you give to children as opposed to adults. Why do we want a generation of young people, who we are trying to convince to become adults, who still have this restriction put on them based on their age? It doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Instead, teach 18-year-olds to drink in moderation, socially only, entrusting them with the responsibility of doing so. I genuinely think that this is the way to encourage a healthy attitude towards alcohol and towards the transition from teenage years to adulthood.

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